Councillors have been told they were right risk a hefty bill and reject a new housing development in Alrewas.
A report previously recommended approving 121 new properties on land off Dark Lane.
But the local authority’s planning committee rejected the scheme earlier this week.
The developers are now likely to appeal the decision and should Lichfield District Council lose, it could be forced to cough up, just as it was when it a rejected proposal for a poultry farm in Haunton, leading to a £32,000 bill.
In October, a report recommended councillors be “be mindful of guidance” and ensure any decisions were “sustainable at appeal”.
But Cllr Mike Wilcox, who represents Alrewas and is leader of the council, said members had a duty to stand up against developments on inappropriate sites.
“It is always a risk to turn down a development as there is always a chance it will get overturned, but as councillors we have to do what we think is right for the district,” he said.
“Because we have a six-and-a-half year land supply identified as part of our local plan and this site isn’t part of it, we are pretty confident an inspector won’t overturn it and will agree that we should stick to our plans.
“This development would have had an impact on the conservation area it overlooks, as well as an impact on already congested roads nearby.”
Cllr Wilcox insisted the long-term planning on housing meant the decision to reject the new homes was a sound one.
He said: “The key thing is that we have a Local Plan, which the Government tells us we have to have – it’s our bible.
“It tells us sites we are looking to build on and identifies new housing numbers. This has been through an inspector who has found it to be sound.
“Yes, the Local Plan is being challenged by developers, but that’s inevitable as they always challenge our choices of sites they should build on.
“This land was not in the plan and does not form part of one of our strategic sites.
“Alrewas as an area is happy to take some development, but we think the site chosen doesn’t fit the criteria.
“We think there are sites that can be developed and we’re supportive of those – but not this particular site.”
However, Labour councillor Diane Evans warned that the planning committee couldn’t afford to keep overturning the views of its officers.
“They are taking a big risk,” she said. “We’re told there are many appeals that haven’t been upheld – it could be very costly for the council if they get this wrong.
“Because there are so many Conservatives, it was in a way a party line. But we shouldn’t look on planning as voting as a party, but that is what was happening.
“The development met all of the criteria with the likes of highways saying it was okay and there wasn’t any real reason to overturn it because the officers hadn’t highlighted anything detrimental to the application.”
Cllr Evans – who sits on the planning committee – added that rural areas needed to take their fair share of new housing in order to meet local needs.
And she warned that the council needed to think about the warning the council was given after previous rejections were overturned on appeal.
She explained: “People in Alrewas have got to accept that they have to have developments with new properties.
“Although they say they know that, they argued that consideration should have been given to the neighbourhood plan. But this couldn’t be done because it hasn’t gone through the full cycle.
“The council can’t keep on getting appeals overturned, because if they do there’ll be a danger of the planning inspector making the decisions instead.
“They do have to be careful – but they know that and have been told so before.”
